


movie night

by softcombat



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-24 07:59:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17700509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softcombat/pseuds/softcombat
Summary: Riku Nanase isn't fair.





	movie night

**Author's Note:**

  * For [snowysatoru](https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowysatoru/gifts).



It's just a movie, Iori tells himself, though that does absolutely nothing to dispel his nerves. Here in the low lighting of Riku's room, alone together, he's more terrified than he ever has been even up on stage. Including the time that he outright forgot to sing, that's quite the statement. 

The problem is that it isn't _just_ a movie, because it's their first 'date'. Or at least that's what Riku's calling it. Idols struggle to have a personal life, since they're forced to try and disguise their identities outside amongst the public, so Riku had reasoned that it made sense to do something at home. There are plenty of awkward aspects to them entering a relationship, but the fact that they live together makes the top of the list in Iori's mind; there's so much intimacy that's already implied by that, after all.

He already knows what Riku looks like with bedhead, has already been the one to wake him up many a time, see Riku brushing his teeth half-asleep, already had Riku make him breakfast and a bentou, shoving him out the door for school, all those things. 

At night, when he's tucked under his covers and finding sleep difficult to come by, it's those sort of experiences that linger on his mind and make Iori fret. What will their relationship look like? Is it alright for them to have one? They've done some things out of order, will they be able to settle into a proper dynamic as romantic partners? He's overthinking, he knows, and he envies Riku for the careless way that he can just smile at Iori and seem excited for things instead of worried.

Riku Nanase is not fair. 

That’s the most succinct summary that Iori can come up with after all this time, living and working together. It’s in Iori’s nature to be observant, and he’s committed to helping Riku become a star anyway; committed to watching over his health, too… It’s obvious, then, that he’d know quite a lot about his groupmate, though at this point, he sort of wishes that wasn’t the case. 

It’s just that he’s the most unbearably cute person that Iori has ever encountered, and it feels rather like a personal attack. It’s the way his eyes light up when he’s excited, how he calls Iori’s name so excitedly, how he’ll tug on Iori’s sleeve, pout and stick his tongue out… All of his mannerisms are decidedly adorable, but done so casually that they can’t be premeditated.

It’s offensive, almost. 

It also made falling for him feel vaguely inevitable; his annoyingly infinite capacity to be endearing coupled with his singing voice that Iori does, honestly, find to be beautiful. He's far too weak to not be charmed by those things, and it doesn't help that Riku does have a sincere magnetism about him, as well as a kindness and drive that Iori finds admirable, but also terribly worrisome. 

If Iori's honest, one of the most exciting things about now being Riku's boyfriend is the idea that he might have a bit more sway over him to use for the sake of getting Riku to just _slow down_ and take care of himself.

Not that that seems likely.

He wonders, though, whether it was as inevitable for Riku as it was for him. It's not something he's really asked about -- the idea of asking why Riku likes him makes him nervous, as if the answer might let him down. It probably wouldn't, because in hindsight he can see Riku had been attempting to get closer to him for quite some time, maybe even flirting, pursuing him as a friend and perhaps something else, too. 

Like the time Riku had come home and called out to him so cheerfully, a shopping bag in hand, and pulled out two matching straps, one in blue, one in red, both of them little stars with eyes and smiles, and Iori had just -- 

\-- exploded, a little, internally.

“I thought you’d like it!” he’d said, beaming at him, offering the blue one, “since you like cute things, don’t you?” Iori had taken it from him quickly, frowning down at it with more intensity than the little decoration deserved, his cheeks threatening to give away his embarrassment. 

“Honestly, Nanase-san, why waste your money on things like this?” His reply had been meant to scold, and Riku had frowned back at him, whining about how Iori was never any fun, seriously just not cute at all… but Iori still hadn’t given the charm back to him, and had no intentions of doing so. 

Putting it on the exterior of his school bag would be too obvious, so he’d attached it to an inside pocket instead, somewhere only he would ever really see. The secrecy of it had backfired, though, really, and only made it feel all the more intimate, especially when he saw Riku’s matching one hanging off of his wallet one day. 

Maybe Iori should have noticed something then, or maybe that wasn't even meant to be a romantic gesture. Matching straps usually mean _something_ , but Iori's never had any experience to compare it to. That had been months before Riku confessed, though, only shortly after they'd been given their own little sub-unit and duet. Had he already had these feelings? Did Iori? Did either of them realize? 

In the back of his mind, at least, Iori knows he must have been somewhat aware, since he can distinctly recall being so, so grateful that they weren’t given any sort of songs like the ones Tamaki and Sougo perform. He'd been certain then and still is now that he'd struggle to meet Riku's eyes while singing any sort of romantic lyrics.

It occurs to him, after quite a while of being lost in his thoughts and memories like this, that he has no idea what's going on in the movie that they're supposed to be watching. Better not to let Riku know that he'd been so distracted, Iori thinks, so he simply gives himself a mental shake and actually decides to focus.

They're both seated with their backs against the wall of Riku's room, the blankets dragged off of his bed and covering their legs, Riku pressed close against his side. That alone is flustering, but Riku keeps leaving one of his hands open on the floor between them, and it's decidedly difficult to pay attention to the movie, then, when his gaze keeps flicking down, wondering if he's supposed to take it.

He probably is. 

A half hour, at least, must pass before Iori really works up the nerve, looking intently at Riku's hand and inching his closer, their fingers brushing, when -- 

\-- when he feels a slight _thunk_ against his shoulder. Iori scarcely dares to breathe, barely turning his head so that he can look down, fearing the worst. 

Riku Nanase’s entirely too sweet expression while dozing, settled right on his shoulder, is enough to make his heart skip _two_ beats. 

Iori lets the movie play until its end, not budging an inch, his back ramrod straight, until the credits have finished rolling in their entirety, and then gently reaches out to shake Riku. “Nanase-san,” he whispers, trying not to startle him too badly, “Nanase-san, the movie ended.” 

He stirs in a way that Iori manages to find precious, too, with heavy blinks, a small, sleepy grumble that isn’t anything resembling real words, but then he mumbles Iori’s name with a hint of confusion, reaching up to rub his eyes. 

It’s enough to melt Iori to pieces.

Even just hearing his name feels like a treat when it comes from Riku, especially when it's soft like this, and it makes him think wildly unrealistic things like how nice it would be to hear his name said that way every day. 

The thought doesn’t last.

That sleepy sort of murmur quickly fades when Riku frowns at him somewhat, leaning in close to Iori’s face so that he can see exactly how displeased he is. “Iori…” he growls, in his best attempt at being intimidating, which is about as scary as a small kitten, “it’s not ‘Nanase-san’ anymore! We talked about this!” 

He’s not wrong, they did, but habits are hard to break and Iori has politeness and protocol drilled into his very being. The fact remains that Riku is older than him, which only makes it all the more difficult. 

“Riku-san,” he sighs, admitting defeat, though he doesn’t intend to apologize for his slip of the tongue. 

It doesn’t appease him at all.

“No.” Riku’s mouth remains set in a firm line, making him look as unhappy as could be. “Get rid of the honorific!” 

In this moment, Iori realizes how truly they embody the phrase ‘an unstoppable force meets an immovable object’. 

It’s not even that he’s opposed to discarding honorifics, not really, it’s just… too soon, maybe. Iori has his own shyness about this, he’s not like Riku, who manages to relax with others so easily. 

“Riku-san,” he repeats, holding steady in the face of Riku’s pouting _only_ because he’s used to deliberately working the boy up, just to get to see his frustrated, surprised, and sad faces. It’s a bit sadistic of him, he knows, and he privately carries some guilt about it, but every expression that Riku makes is cute. His every reaction is enough to make Iori’s heart flutter. 

Mitsuki knows, that much is for certain, because Iori has sometimes been subjected to wry grins and raised eyebrows when no one else is looking, which always makes him blush furiously and look away as fast as possible. It’s awful, because Mitsuki is his beloved older brother and Iori wouldn’t trade him for anything, doesn’t want to be apart from him in the slightest, but it would be nice if they weren’t so close if only to spare Iori the embarrassment of being teased over his crush. 

At least he’s reasonably certain that Mitsuki is the only one who’s figured it out so far. The idea of tackling that, telling their fellow members, is enough to give Iori another wave of anxiety about their relationship. 

“Fine!” Riku finally decides, looking confident now, smug like he’s proud of himself, which makes Iori wary. “You can keep the honorific, but you have to watch another movie with me!” It’s late, so Iori gives the clock a concerned glance, but ultimately… it’s not like he really wants to say no. 

“Fine.” 

Riku crawls over to the DVD player and pulls out a drawer of his, searching through it, making thoughtful noises. He’s putting an awful lot of effort into this decision, it seems, when he’d just fallen asleep on the last movie, but who is Iori to question him? Eventually he pulls out the last disc and replaces it with a new one, making his way back over, and instead of settling himself against the wall again, he places both his hands on Iori’s knees, pulling his legs apart.

Iori’s never been more red in his _life_ and he lets out a startled sort of yelp, pulling back, eyes wide. “N-Nanase-san, w--”

“It’s ‘Riku’!--” 

“What are you doing!?” 

Riku has the decency to look sheepish, then, but his hands haven’t moved, a fact that Iori finds himself all too aware of. 

“I thought I could sit against you?” His voice sounds a little like he’s asking permission now, which is only right, and Iori’s heart rate starts to return to normal. He gives Riku a slow nod, though the proximity that implies is still embarrassing to even consider. 

They move to accommodate each other and Riku sits with his back against Iori’s chest, pulling the blankets up over them both again.

Iori thinks he might faint. 

He swears he can feel the heat coming from _both_ their blushes. 

“Is this okay?” Riku asks softly, a note of worry in his tone, which Iori appreciates, but also finds vaguely annoying, for some reason. 

“Yes,” he replies, feeling himself gulp. In a desperate attempt to feel more in control of the situation again, Iori resorts to teasing him gently. “Just don’t fall asleep again this time.”

“I won’t fall asleep!!” Riku snaps back, rising to the bait immediately, as he always does, indignant and embarrassed. 

It’s so cute.

To his credit, he follows through; neither of them fall asleep on the second movie, but it might be because it’s an action movie. It might also be because they’re both so nervous that there’s no way they could drift off. Halfway through, Iori feels brave enough to shift and wrap his arms around Riku slightly, his hands coming to rest around his stomach. Riku gives him a content hum, which makes all the nerves worth it, really, and Iori… feels grateful, more than anything. He’s grateful that Riku was determined to have them try this, that he’s able to push ahead and initiate things in a way that’s so unlike Iori. The closeness is nice, and holding onto Riku like this makes him feel sort of proud. 

Unlike the movie before this, where Iori had felt almost painfully aware of each minute passing by, this one seems to go far too quickly. Suddenly it’s nearly four in the morning and both of them know they need to go to bed, despite not having any work scheduled for tomorrow, there’s always the possibility of practice and it’s hard to sleep the day away when you live in a house with so many others, several of whom are loud. 

He doesn’t want to let go. His arms ache a little to hold Riku tighter, or maybe it’s just his imagination. His heart hurts at the thought of parting. It’s ridiculous, because they live together, they’ll have so many other chances for things like this, but right now it feels like they’re in their own little world, and it’s cozier than Iori would have anticipated.

The credits drag on while Iori feels sure that they’re both dreading the end of them, the end of their excuse to stay like this. 

Riku leans his head back a little, sliding it under Iori’s chin, and sighs.

“We should go to sleep, huh?” 

Childishly, Iori admits, he doesn’t want to answer that. He sort of admires Riku for saying it at all.

A moment of quiet passes between them. 

“Mm, it’s late,” Iori finally agrees, loosening his hold on Riku. He doesn’t move straight away, but when he pulls away from Iori’s chest, slides out from between his legs, he’s left feeling sort of chilly. His leg has fallen asleep and his arms feel stiff, but Iori gets to his feet, pulling the blankets off the floor and starting to lay them out over Riku’s bed again.

He’s stopped by a pair of hands over his, and Riku’s laughter. 

“I’ll do that,” he says, “I’m not _that_ tired.”

Maybe, Iori thinks, he just wanted an excuse to linger for a minute or so more. 

The blankets get taken away from him, and Iori nods, feeling strangely disappointed.

“I’ll see you in the morning, then?” he asks, turning to take steps towards the door. 

“It’s already morning,” Riku laughs again, and Iori feels him following after. 

He has his fingers wrapped around the knob of the door when he turns, sighing out his exasperation.

“You knew what I meant. Goodnight, Nanas-- … Riku-san.” The correction is still foreign on his tongue, but it’s not bad, especially when he sees Riku’s eyes light up at the sound of his own name.

For the first time, somehow, Iori considers that Riku might like him just as much as Iori does him. 

“Goodnight, Iori!” he chirps, and then he’s leaning up and in, his glasses bumping against Iori’s cheek before Riku’s lips are pressing _against_ his cheek, and then his voice is much more shy, bashful, completely thrilling to Iori’s ears. “Sleep well.” 

He nods, feeling robotic in his movements, surely nearly stumbling out the door, and shuts it behind him. Iori inhales shakily, lifting a hand so that his fingers can brush against the skin where Riku’s _mouth_ had been, which is dizzying, and then --

There’s a low whistle from the direction of the living room and Iori blanches.

On the couch is Yamato with his arm over the back, Mitsuki next to him, grinning, and Sougo across from them, his face very red. With resolute, stubborn determination, Iori ignores them, pretends he can’t hear his brother and Yamato chuckling, or Sougo slurring his name and asking him to come back, and marches off to his bedroom.

The actual process of getting ready for bed is a blur, his mind replaying the evening over and over, recalling the way Riku’s warmth had felt, how his _lips_ had felt.

When he gets into bed, he allows himself one unrestrained moment and buries his face in his pillow, awfully red.

What a cute person.

**Author's Note:**

> i really hope this was soft enough for you! <3 i wanted to write something early in their relationship but i also just wanted them to kiss ;; so honestly, don't be surprised if this gets another chapter at some point that's just gratuitous smooches, because they deserve them. happy valentine's day, snowysatoru! <3


End file.
